Coaching Fast Pitch Softball

Throwing and Pitching Trainers at SoftballrUs.com

Fast Pitch Softball Coaching Tips
By Judy Halaby

Coaching fast pitch softball is an art form. Let's face it, a large part of coaching is drills. And drills are BORING! But the key to being a successful coach is to make drills more engaging.

First, drills alone are not a practice. You must intersperse drills with fast pitch softball games so that your players stay engaged.

Second, drills are not boring. You can try to make them more fun. For example, make them competitive. A successful drill is one in which there is a healthy competitive component added.

Third, explain the purpose of the drills to the players. If they understand what skills they are building with each drill they will be more engaged and may even participate more enthusiastically.

Fourth, and most important, an effective fast pitch softball drill builds confidence. While doing the drill the player should be complimented on what they are doing right. Keep the feedback simple, just a "awesome" will suffice and keep a player engaged.

Your practice

The first job of coaching is getting the players to practice on time. The best incentive to get players to practice on time is to give them a sequential number when they get there and that is their number in the batting line up...which is every player's favorite part of practice.

Second, warm ups. Keep warm ups fun and engaging... stretching is a necessary evil, but a game of tag or relay race is a good way to get players warmed up and keep them engaged as well.

Third come drills, as mentioned above, keep drills as fun as possible. They are a necessary evil to every player's game. Make each drill a game and keep the drills to two or three per practice. Any more than that and your players will get bored and tired.

Finally, end the practice with a scrimmage. This is the player's favorite part of practice and keeps them most engaged in fast pitch softball.

Judy Halaby is a softball fanatic and wants to see it in the 2012 Olympics!

http://www.fastpitchsoftballbats.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judy_Halaby

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Coaching Your Daughter's Softball Team for the First Time

By Jim Moyer

Finally, Spring is here and with it comes the beginning of Fastpitch Softball season for hundreds of thousands of little girls. Along with the start of Softball season also comes the recruitment of parents to become volunteer coaches. The FEAR, the anxiety, the hope that you don't lead your daughter's team to a winless season. Here’s the good news, like just about anything else, if the new coach will find a successful mentor the coach can quickly learn what skills and strategies need to be utilized to win. However, the large majority of new fastpitch coaches are dads that think since they played baseball 20 years ago they can easily transfer that knowledge to their team and be successful. After all, it's just a bunch of 7 & 8 year old girls, right? Wrong. To be successful the new coach not only has to coach his team, he must also out coach all of the other dad-coaches.

If you think coaching doesn’t make that big of a difference, then please explain how a coach went 93-4-2 over a 5 year period in 8U fastpitch softball while coaching his daughters. That’s a very impressive record no matter what age you are coaching. And don’t think for a moment that it was talent that led to that record. I’m talking about a team that every year lost half of it’s players to promotion to the older age group and had to pick up 6 or 7 brand new players…typically girls that had never played the game. So how could this one coach pile up 5 straight 1st place finishes and compile a winning percentage of .960%?

It boils down to great coaching and knowing what strategies work at different ages. That’s the only possible answer. For example, the three most important positions in 8U Softball are First Base, Pitcher and Second Base. As players get older it’s certainly true that talent can make a difference. But talent still has to be coached. An athletic player under a poor coach will never achieve her full potential. However, average talent can achieve superior levels under the guidance of a great coach.

Regarding offense, most new coaches tend to build a batting order similar to how professional baseball teams put together a batting order. That's a sure way to lose games in 8U softball. The best advice is to stagger the strong hitters with weaker hitters mixed in. That way your team is able to bat further into the lineup, allowing for a couple of outs, yet scoring the maximum number of runs allowed. Many new coaches also forget to teach the girls how to bunt the ball. The younger the team is the more important it is teach girls to bunt as it helps to build hand-eye coordination while allowing the player to contribute to the success of the team.

Finally, most new coaches don't know what training tools would be of greatest benefit to their team. Typically the league will issue a sack of softball gear that might include a couple of bats, a dozen balls, a few batting helmets, and some catcher's gear and the new coach never gives it a second thought. However, regardless of age every coach needs to have a sack of plastic poly balls and a hitting tee just to name a couple of training aides. In the younger age groups a coach might want to have two or more hitting tees so his team gets plenty of practice time swinging a bat. As for the poly balls, not only are they perfect for batting practice, but they are also perfect for learning how to catch pop flys in order to prevent injuries.

Good Luck to all of the new softball coaches. Don't assume you know it all, find a mentor, do some research, teach skills that are age appropriate, and have fun. It's going to be a great season of softball and one that your daughter will never forget since her dad was the coach.

Jim Moyer is the author of http://www.mysoftballcoach.com Having coached over 500 youth fastpitch softball games, Jim decided to put the information online to allow parent/coaches to draw on his unique experience.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Moyer

Teaching a Balanced Batting Stance

By Andy Pohl

Hitting is a chain reaction of body movements. As with any chain reaction, the end cannot be met without a proper beginning. The purpose of the stance is to get the hitter in a body position that will facilitate a quick and powerful movement towards the baseball.

First of all, hitters need to find a stance that is comfortable and balanced. Their eyes must be focused on the pitcher. Many hitters have their heads tucked under their shoulder or tilted to the side. This consequently impedes their ability to see the ball clearly from the best angle. Make sure the head is upright with the eyes focused directly at the pitcher.

All good hitters get themselves in a good athletic position to start. A good athletic position consists of flex in the knees with the hip sockets back. If a hitter is having a difficult time getting into an athletic position or confused about what this position feels like, have them pretend they are defending someone on the basketball court. They will quickly notice that their knees are flexed, their butt is out, and they are slightly bent over on the balls of their feet. Have them hold that position and put a bat in their hands. This is the proper stance.

The stance is should be relaxing enough to have a calming effect over the body. The bat should be held loosely in the fingers or across the callous line of the hand. Never hold the bat in the palm. The hands and forearms should be relaxed as much as possible. Seeing the veins pop out of a player's arms is a good indication that they are holding gripping the bat too tight. Any tension in the hands and arms slows down the swing, which subsequently reduces power.

In order to relax, hitters should breathing slowly, in with the nose and out with the mouth between pitches. Taking practice check swings while in the box waiting for the pitcher to get set also relaxes the body and gives the hitter a sense of flow. Athletes cannot be successful hitter if their mind and body are not in a relaxed state.

Andy Pohl - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Pohl
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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!